U.s.jews Urged to Increase Tourism to Israel to Show Solidarity with Jewish State

Mrs. Charlotte Jacobson, chairman of the American. Section of the World Zionist Organization, told the American Zionist Federation that the Jewish community in this country has the “moral duty” to immediately fill the hotels of Israel with tourists, and show by their presence American Jewish solidarity with the people of Israel.

In an address before the national board meeting of the American Zionist Federation, Mrs. Jacobson said that we “cannot allow the world to be intimidated by the Arab world without raising our voices.” Noting that the Arabs are using their wealth as an economic weapon to buy foreign policy, she called on the Zionist movement to begin a series of educational seminars throughout the U.S. which would point out to the Arab world that “they must use their wealth for constructive services.”

Addressing the AZF, Rabbi Israel Miller, chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations said; “We are convinced that there is no basic policy difference between the United States and Israel in the problems they mutually confront in the Middle East. There are, of course, differences in concerns and emphasis, in nuance and shading, but there have as yet developed no principles upon which the U.S. does not see eye to eye with the government of Israel.”

There is a mutual recognition of the need for peace with each of Israel’s neighbors, for a strong Israel, militarily and economically, for a viable Israel with secure and recognized boundaries and that guarantees not be a substitute for defensible boundaries, Rabbi Miller said, “There is mutual understanding that this is a process and that there is the need for the establishment of conditions which would lead to peace, such as the cessation of boycotts and the discriminating use of Arab funds.”

Time and patience, he continued, “are of the essence, but there is the mutual understanding that there must be movement toward the goal of a political settlement leading to a real peace. If the Arabs are interested in peace they will make peace first with this mutual understanding of the United States and Israel, which is in their interest as well.”